Sighting: open water navigation (head lifts)
SwimTechnique of lifting the head to spot a buoy or landmark without excessively disrupting body position in water.
In open water or Ironman, there is no black line on the pool floor: navigation relies on head lifts ('sighting') every 6 to 10 strokes depending on visibility and current. The classic technique is the 'croc': before breathing, lift your eyes above the surface without raising your head fully (chin stays low), spot the landmark for 1 second, then rotate to breathe normally. Benefit: less body position disruption than a full head lift. Common errors: sighting too often (fatigues shoulders), imagining a straight line (current and waves deviate trajectory), aiming at other swimmers (they zigzag too). A poorly navigated Ironman swim can add 100 to 200 m of extra distance.
In TriPaced:
TriPaced does not yet measure actual swim distance (Garmin SWIM 2 GPS required). In practice: during open water sessions, aim for a 'croc' every 8 strokes and record your GPS track to measure deviation from the straight path. A skilled swimmer rarely deviates more than 3 to 5% from theoretical distance.
Source Laughlin T, Total Immersion Swimming (Open Water edition); Triathlon.org open water course guides